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Monday, 7 October 2013

One Last Dance by Angela Stephens

One Last Dance by Angela Stephens Genre: Mature New Adult Number of pages: 250 Purchase Links:AmazonBNBook Description: “One dance, that’s all I’m asking for.” Dreams don’t come true. That’s one thing that Sophie Becker knows for certain. Sophie spent the first nineteen years of her life dedicated to her dream of becoming a dancer, but when an injury ends her career as a performer, she struggles to find an anchor. Now, a few years later, Sophie has tried to move on by opening a dance studio in the heart of Manhattan. She thinks she can hide from her pain, but it’s impossible in the face of daily reminders of the opportunities she has lost. One night, a mysterious stranger walks into her studio, threatening to tear down the facade she has worked so hard to build up. Henry Medina is the reclusive CEO of Medina Properties and has a troubled past of his own. Henry is cocky, handsome and all he wants is to dance with Sophie. When a dance becomes more than just a dance, will Sophie be able to handle the intense emotions that he stirs up? Will Henry reignite the passion in Sophie’s heart and heal her soul or will he leave her more broken than she was when he found her?

One Last Dance by Angela StephensMy rating: 4 of 5 starsSophie is a dance teacher who longs to dance again herself. Henry is a lonely man who is tired of doing what is expected of him. When Henry sees Sophie dancing through the window of her studio, he knows he has found the passion his life has been missing, and he will do anything to be able to corral it and keep it for himself. The characters in this story were great. Sophie was a strong, independent female lead. When her dreams of dancing were shattered she picked herself up and pushed ahead to the next best thing – teaching dancing to others. She was running a successful business, had a great family and friends, and tried desperately to hide the part of her that had gone missing when her dancing career ended. Henry was an old soul. He, too, knew that part of him was missing. He tried to cover it up with a tough façade and forged through life doing what was expected of him. And we cannot forget Darren. He was such a great friend to Sophie and supported her in every decision. The writing was good and the story charming and sweet. There were no cliffhangers in this story to make me believe this might turn into a series, but I hope to see more from these characters.View all my reviews

Excerpt

When she was sure Darren was
gone, she followed the stranger back into the classroom. Darren had
turned off half the bank of overhead lights when he’d exited earlier,
leaving the room bathed in a dim glow. She watched the man as he stood
in the center of the room, dark eyes scanning and cataloging everything.
Sophie took a deep breath, willing her frantic heart to calm. “What can I do for you, Mr...” He spun on his heel, the move smooth and agile, until he faced her. “It is you. I knew it.” Sophie’s head spun. She would know if she’d seen this man before. “I’m sorry? Do I know you from somewhere?” “Buenos Aires.” A shock went through her system. That was a city she knew well. “I saw you dance in a competition and you had more pasión than I had ever seen.” He
had no accent, yet the way he said pasión showed he knew the language,
and probably tango. Sophie felt a jolt in her stomach and her shoulders
slouched. She wasn’t expecting another reminder of her past from a
stranger. A reminder of a time before her knee had betrayed her.
Whatever he was expecting, it was from a past version of herself. He
would be disappointed by the present Sophie. “I’m sorry, Mr.—” “Henry. Please just call me Henry.” “Okay
then, Henry,” she said, shaping the syllables with her tongue and lips.
“I appreciate the compliment, but that was a long time ago. Why did you
come in here tonight?” His gaze
rested on her mouth as she spoke his name and again she felt that flare
of heat on her face. A slow, crooked smile spread across his sensual
lips, his mouth turning up at one corner and revealing a deep dimple.
“I saw you through the window and I felt compelled. I’ve wanted to see
you dance since that night, but I couldn’t find any of your
performances. Then tonight as I’m walking down the sidewalk I see you
teaching a class. You’ve been under my nose this whole time.” The
stab of pain in her stomach intensified. That she could have such an
effect on a man this beautiful was so flattering, and yet realizing that
the dancer who had created that effect was no longer able to dance
devastated her. She needed to get him out of here before she began to
cry. “Henry—” “Dance with me.” “I
beg your pardon?” Did he really think he could come into her studio and
dance with her because he saw her in the window? Because he had seen
her at a competition once? “If you’d like lessons, I’m happy to give you
a schedule. We have new classes starting all the time.” He
was already stalking over to the chair at the front of the room and the
loathsome cane propped against it. She saw him pluck something from the
seat and realized it was her iPod remote. “I don’t want dance lessons. I
want to dance with you.” “I’ve had a full day. And I don’t give out free private lessons.” His
thick brows rose. “I’ll pay double your normal rate. For the whole
hour. One dance and I’ll leave.” He pointed the remote at the iPod dock
and waited, gaze steady. He couldn’t be serious. “Does that normally work? The ‘double your rate’ bit?” “I wouldn’t know. First time I’ve used it.” So
he was a charmer. Sophie’s thoughts went to her knee. She wiggled her
leg a bit to test its strength. It felt fine, which was strange given
the pain she had been in earlier. Her attention returned to the
beautiful man in front of her. The urgency that had emerged in his eyes
left her startled. “Well I can tell you. It doesn’t.” His
hand dropped, but his gaze remained fixed on her, his dark eyes
searching. They travelled down her body, and Sophie thought for a moment
she felt his eyes linger on her bad knee, but they returned quickly to
her face. “No? What about this: when I saw you dance in Buenos Aires, I
felt your pasión. I felt connected to you, like I knew you just by
watching you move. I feel that again today, and I have to know if we
have that connection.” He
stepped toward her, stopping a foot in front of her. His eyes locked
again with hers. “So I’m going to say it again. Dance with me. Please.” His
close proximity brought a new warmth to her body, and Sophie was
surprised to find she had begun to grow wet between her legs. She knew
the connection he was talking about. It was something she had felt with
Christian when they had danced, and as she thought about it she realized
it was something she shared with the gorgeous creature in front of her.
Henry. She tasted the unspoken syllables in her mouth, wondered what it
would be like to scream them. She
snapped out of her reverie and dropped her eyes down to the skin
exposed at Henry’s open collar. A shake of her leg showed her knee was
fine. “Henry—” His hot breath was in her hair as he
stepped forward. “I will pay you ten times your normal hourly rate. One
dance, that’s all I’m asking for.” She
looked up and saw his expression. If eyes could be on fire, his dark
eyes were blazing. For her. “You don’t even know my rate,” she said
quietly. He smiled. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.” His hand came up for her in perfect form, just as Darren’s had earlier. One
more check of her knee. It felt good. What the hell, she thought. It
was worth one dance: the money—she would have to make up her private
rate—and to know if this handsome man she had just met could connect
with her in a way no one had in a long time. “One dance,” she said.

About the Author: Angela Stephens is the author of the Beautifully Broken series and the soon to be released New Adult novel "One Last Dance". Angela enjoys reading stories about bad boy heroes falling for funny heroines with big hearts. In her spare time, she can be usually found baking, knitting or curled up with her e-reader at the beach. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Stephens/497157243707047